Valve



Jap. 28, 1941. A, L. PARKER VALVE Filed July 22, 1938 'd5 hydraulic presses.

tallied Jen. 2s, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIC-E vALvE Arthur L. Parker, cleveland, ohio Application July 22, 1938, .Serial No. 220,785

1 Claim.

The invention relates generally to valves intended for use in high pressure hydraulic circuits and primarily seeks to provide a novel valve structure including a tapered rotary plug 'and means for assuring free' turning of the plug despite the high pressures to which the plug is subjected.

When a tapered valve plug is installed in a circuit of the character stated, the pressure of the 1w incoming fluid forces the plug tightly against the j opposite side of the valve casing, causing the plug to turn hard and wear quickly.

.an object of the invention is to provide means l for balancing pressures at opposite sides of the M, valve plug sov as to avoid the objectionable hard turning and quick wearing of the valve plug.

Another object of the invention is to provide i 3U valve. i

Figure 2 is a central vertical section of the valve taken at right angles to the section illus-V trated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a central horizontal section of the 35 valve, the valve being shown in the off position.

Figure 4 is a detail cross section oi the screw sealing and locking washer.

Figures 5 and 6 are diagrammatic horizontal sections illustrating the valve connected in a du high pressure hydraulic system.

The improved valve includes a casing 5 and in this particular disclosure is a valve of the 'i-way type adaptable to use in a high pressure hydraulic system such as might be employed in ln such a system there is included a cylinder G having a piston l mounted for reciprocation therein, a pump 8 for applying hydraulic pressure alternately at opposite sides of the piston under control of the valve forming 50 the subject matter of this application, and a tank d in which the pressure fluid is impounded.

The valve casing 5 includes a high pressure inlet it, which may be connected by a line il with the pressure side of the pump, and a low pres- 55 sure outlet l2 which may be connected by a line i3 with the tank, said tank being connected by a line I4 with the pump intake. The valve casing also includes flow ports or passages I5 and I6 which may be alternately connected through lines tl and i8 with the respective ends of the 5 cylinder for alternately directing fluid into said cylinder ends at the highpressure developed by A the pump. The high pressure hydraulic circuit is diagrammatically illustrated in Figures 5 and A6 of the drawing. l0

The valve casing includes a tapered bore I9 in which a tapered valve plug is rotatably adjustable, the steam 2i of the plug being extended from the small end of the'plug through an opening 22 in the casing. Within the casing the 15 stem opening 22 is surrounded by a counterbore 23 in which is mounted a packing ring 24 termed of any suitable yieldable composition material. The packing ring is opposed by a metal spreader ring 25, and a coil spring 26 is interposed be- 20 tween the small end of the plug and the ring and serves to constantly urge the ring 25 into spreading engagement with the'yieldable packing ring.

vAt its small end'the plug issurrounded by a 95 pressure chamber 2l which extends slightly below the extremity of the plug as at 28.

A closure cap 29 is threadedly mounted as at tu in the lower end of the casing, a suitable gasket :il being interposed between the cap and the 30 end of the casing.

il seat core 32 is carried by the lower end of the 4valve plug and includes a concave seat M engageable with a rounded end of an adjustable screw 3d surrounded by a sealing washer 35 of 35 any suitable yieldable composition material. The screw is threadably mounted as at 36 in the cap 2e and the threaded bore in which the screw is mounted is surrounded by a counterbore 3l in which a sealing and screw locking washer de is ad mounted. The washer includes a normally nonthreaded bore 39 into which the screw is threaded. By causing the screw to form its own receiv ing thread in the washer, the washer serves as u loclr washer which effectively secures the screw ifi against loss of adjustment. The washer is seIl cured in the counterbore by upsetting the metal of the cap as indicated at dll.

The plug is equipped with a by-pass bore di which passes centrally through the plug and du communicates with the outlets ld and il ciY the casing when the valve plug is in the closed position shown in ligure 3. The plug also includes side cutouts ft2 for alternately communicating between the casing ports lil, it and il, it or it,

I5 and l0, I6, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawing.

Above each side cutout 42 at each side of the plug the plug is provided with a recess or cutout portion 43 extending part way around the plug as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing. Similar cutouts 44 are similarly positioned below vthe cutout 42. Each ofthe recesses or cutouts 43,

44 is connected by a duct 45 with the side cutout 42 at the opposite side of the plug.

The chamber 46 below the plug communicates throughy a relief duct 41 with the low pressure outlet l2, as shown in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawing.

When a tapered valve plug is installed in a circuit such as is diagrammatically illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawing, the pressure of the fluid in the line Il forces the plug tightly against the opposite side of the valve casing. This causes the plug to turn hard and Wear quickly. By reason .of the provision of the recesses or cutouts 43, 44 and the ducts 45 by which each such recess communicates with a side cutout 42 at the opposite side of the plug, the pressures at opposite sides of the plug are balanced and hard turning and quick wearing of the plug will be avoided. The combined area of each pair of the balancing or side pressure cutouts 43 44 is equal to the vertical area of each side pressure cutout or recess 42 and the iiuid pressure on the plug will therefore be the same on both sides and the plug will be balanced within the valve casing. y

In this valve no direct communication is afforded between the high pressure inlet and the chamber above the plug. Thus pressure tending to unseat the plug is provided only by the spring 26 and by such iluidpressure as may have built up in the chamber in which the spring is mounted by reason of leakage of iluid about the sides of the plug. Any :duid pressure which may tend to build up in the chamber beneath the plug due to fluid leakage about the plug, will be relieved through the duct 47.

It is orourse to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

In a four-way valve, a casing having a plug chamber, a high pressure inlet and a low pressure outlet and two other flow ports adapted to be alternately connected with the high pressure inlet and the low pressure outlet, a tapered plug rotatable in the plug chamber and having provision for controlling passage of fluid through said inlet and outlet ports and including a side cutout formed directly in each side thereof, one disposed for cooperation with each of the high pressure inlet and the low pressure outlet and each being of a length for at times connecting the respective inlet or outlet with one of the other or flow ports, a pair of side pressure cutouts formed directly in said plug and disposed one above and one below each side cutout, and a straight bore duct extending across through the plug between each side pressure cutout and the side cutout at the opposite side of the plug for affording communication between each side pressure cutout and the sidecutout at the 0pposite side of the plug, the total area of each pair of side pressure cutouts being equal to the area of each side cutout whereby to balance the pressure exerted against the plug at the respective sides thereof, means constantly tending to unseat the plug, and means for bleeding off pressure accumulation at the large end of the plug ARTHUR L. PARKER. 

